Three new faces in Bajan squad for Caribbean T20

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Three newcomers -- allrounders Larry Babb, Ashley Nurse and Jason Hinds, the younger brother of captain Ryan Hinds -- have been named in the Barbados 14-man squad for the West Indies Cricket Board Caribbean T20 Tournament to be hosted by Barbados and Trinidad from July 22 to 31.

The 27-year-old Babb is a tall, right-hand batsman and left-arm medium-pace bowler, who plays for Police and also has a reputation as an outstanding fielder. Nurse, 21 is a former Barbados Under-19 team player who bowls off-breaks and is flexible in the batting order, while 25-year-old Jason Hinds is an off-spinner who has shown his versatility by either opening the innings or batting in the middle.

Jason Hinds followed a solid allround showing in last season’s second edition of the Sagicor General T20 championship with impressive performances in the same tournament again this year, helping his club Empire to their second consecutive final. He also stood out with the ball in the Barbados Cricket Association's four-match Caribbean T20 trials.

Babb caught the eyes of the selectors as well during the trials. He slammed a swashbuckling 46 not out off 25 balls with four sixes and two fours. He has also played league cricket in England and joined the Royal Barbados Police Force in 2007. Nurse is arguably one of the most economical T20 bowlers in the island, as was evidenced in the last two Sagicor General T20 championships. Like Babb, he is also sharp in the field.

Eight teams will be involved in the Caribbean T20. The West Indies territorial teams: Barbados, Combined Campuses and Colleges, Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and Windward Islands will be joined by Canada. There is a huge incentive to win the Caribbean T20, with the leading Caribbean team going on to represent the West Indies at the Airtel Champions League in South Africa in September.

The format for the Caribbean T20 Tournament will be two groups of four teams. There will be a round-robin stage in each group – each team will play three matches – with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will advance to final while the losing semi-finalists will play a third-place play-off. The matches in Barbados will be played on July 22 to 25 and the matches in Trinidad will be played on July 28 to 31, with August 1 as the reserve day for the finals.